Deceptive Mailer – Housing & Economic Recovery Program (PL 110-289)

A tipster (send in your tips here) sent in the following mailer they received for the Housing & Economic Recovery Program (PL 110-289). You will notice the mailer looks like a government document and uses the HUD equal housing symbol.

The front references P.L. 110-289 which is actually The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 and something called the “Economic Stimulus Act of 2009.” Only one problem, there is no such act. I assume the people behind this mailer were trying to reference the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

The use of the Equal Housing Opportunity logo seems to make no sense in the context this is for people that already occupy their homes. The use of the logo is relatted to the follow EHO mission “Equal Housing Opportunity Statement: We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. We encourage and support an affirmative advertising and marketing program in which there are no barriers to obtaining housing because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.” – Source

The front of the mailer references a company called Advecor.com which sells marketing solutions for the financial market.

Advecor says the president is Greg Dowd and the CFO and merketing is developed under Greg May, an attorney.

The inside of the mailer is interesting. It makes reference to the “Homeowner’s Advocate Council” but a web search could turn up no such thing. It uses the HUD logo again on the inside and continues the appearance it is a government mailer of some sort.

The inside of the mailer tells consumers to visit legalmod.us. The domain name is owned by Advecor, Inc, Aaron Hankle, 7428 Trade St, San Diego, CA 92121. A visit to the legalmod.us site finds a very scant site.

What you see above is the ENTIRE site.

I called the number, 888-593-5196, in the mailer and it was answered by a representative who identified himself as working for New Start and he refused to tell me anything about the company. When I asked who I was calling he would not give any information until I gave him my personal information. A huge RED FLAG.

The main Prosper Law website is actually at prosperlawcorp.com and lists their address as 8320 Lincoln Blvd., Suite 164, Los Angeles CA 90045. Prosper Law identifies themselves as a “Foreclosure Avoidance Law Firm.”

The attorneys associated with Prosper Law are Gordon Dickson, Deborah Guiterrez, Ron Viasbort and Richard Gee.

According to the California Bar Association, Richard Gee is not eligible to practice law. – Source

I did contact Advecor yesterday and asked them about their mailer but as of the publication of this article they failed to respond to my questions. Today I also contacted attorney Deborah Guiterrez, with Prosper Law and did not receive a response back from her to either accept or deny that Prosper Law had anything to do with the mailer.

I can always use your help. If you have a tip or information you want to share, you can get it to me confidentially if you click here.

I notice all the comments are for over a year ago. I received mine yesterday!

NicksMom2005

I got one a few days ago. It’s from “Housing & Economic Recovery Program (PL 110-289)”. No return address or website on mine. It’s a “Payment Reduction Notice” & part of a “Modification Program”. The phone number is 888-371-8848.

I called the number, they sent me forms to fill out, I sent them back. They called me back and explained to me how it works. A guy named Brandon Johnson told me “Do not pay your mortgage for six months, they cannot take your property by then.” He then instructed me to send him $600.00 to start the process, then I would be set up on 6 payments of $900.00. I asked him about the interest rate, he said “We wont know all the details for about six months, the government process takes time, but we will work as hard as we can for you to get you the best possible rate.”I told him thank you, and I would call back later. They have called three more times leaving messages. I will not be doing business with them.

They’re still at it. The only real difference in the mailer now is, they’ve done away with the Homeowner’s Council and Equal Housing Lender logos…now they simply have a set of Law ‘Scales’ in place. So, I am assuming that they got their tail in the wringer from one or both of those entities. This was in Oregon, BTW.

http://profile.yahoo.com/XMR6XMSKKEGRUOT2NLADVU7TDQ Tiondo

Have recieved this mailer twice now. The recent one is saying the expiry date is 09/02/12. I went to the website and there is now or very little info, then i knew scamming is on the loose especially homeowners who have fallen behind like me due to economy. Thanks for these in fo, i would have thought it is a genuene site. RR

Raraisabrat1

So is modlegalusa a legit company to go through for a loan modification? I called Bbb and they couldn’t find anything for that business name. The law firm they told us that we would be using is Jefferson Consumer Law of utah. Help please on more info

The original message was received at Thu, 14 Jun 2012 08:28:27 -0700from sculpin.host45.com [127.0.0.1] —– The following addresses had permanent fatal errors —– (reason: 553 5.3.0 … Unknown E-Mail Address) —– Transcript of session follows —–… while talking to barracuda.host45.com.:>>> DATA<<< 553 5.3.0 … Unknown E-Mail Address550 5.1.1 … User unknown<<< 503 5.0.0 Need RCPT (recipient)After researching your qualifications, I was informed your are a fraud and this is a scam. I do not wish to have you take advantage of my situation. The e-mail is returned. See above.

Doreenflagstaff

I received this mailer as well. I filled out the form before I checked it out. I should of done this before I completed the form. I have received so many letters that say they want to help. The bottom line…..they appear to all be scams. Yes, they are preying on people who are doing everything possible to save their homes. Me included. I have tried 4 times for a modification with Bank of America and have been rejected 4 times!!! To me that is another scam. While it takes Bank of America anywhere from 3-4 months before you receive an answer, customers are getting more and more delinquent. I am now going to file for bankruptcy to save my home.

Castillo_danilo

I just read again the ad from Mortgage Relief Advisory at 1621 Central Ave. Cheyenne, WY 82001. I guess tricking people is not illegal under capitalism’s “Laissez Fair/ Let the buyer be aware” government doctrine. Thank god that there are websites such as this one for those who are smart enough not to fail for this trick. By the way, the Spanish phrase they included “Dispnibles en Espanol representantes parlantes” sounds funny and it does not make much sense in Spanish.

Skspiess

I received one of these mailers, as well — PAYMENT REDUCTIO NOTIFICATION (HR-3221) I called and talked to Kyle Black. I looked up the company, and the lawyer that Black told me may handle my case — IF I was approved. Then he had to get some information from me. While the lawyers checked out — they were real and were licensed — I just couldn’t shake the feeling that something about what they were saying was off. I though about it over the weekend. Decided to do on more due diligence search and found you guys,. I’m glad I listened to my instincts. I’m in South Louisiana and hope that others in the area find you before they sign up.

http://www.facebook.com/carol.sturgeon Carol Hendricks Sturgeon

Received same mailer. Sounded too good to be true so I researched it and found you. Thanks for alerting others. The people behind this are despicable!

Thumperusaf

Im a active duty service member, I called these people hoping to get some help. Mr. Greg Titus was his name 801-462-2304, He fowarded me to Alice (using a switchboard???) Who called me back after I left her a message. 801-462-2281. I been briefed about scams and been know how some companies work. This company sounded suspect. (Soon as I hang up, they returned my call within 30 sec) It played like two of them were working this scam between each other. Dont be fooled by the forward call switch board trick!

http://GetOutOfDebt.org Steve Rhode

Did you ever get the name of the company they work for who were selling you services for a fee?

Thumperusaf

WTLEE.ORG, I received a call back. I was very upset. He went on to say he was under the Better Business Bureau and they had a A+ rating. It seems these lawyers go out on your behalf and try to get your payments down. Please help… I do need assistance with my loan. I don’t how they received my info. Have some posters lost money dealing with this program?

Jax

Yesterday, May 19th 2012 I received a very similar mailer titled “Payment Reduction Notification (HR-3221). As a former legal assistant, I read all the fine print. Under the bold type “Notice Expiration Date” are two lines that state “Information was obtained by public record sources. Rates and terms subject to change without notice. This product or service has not been approved or endorsed by any government agency and this offer is not being made by any agency of the government. JL Martin Law. Do not delay, this situation requires swift action. Cases may likely be referred to local counsel.”

This required a magnifying glass to read. A shame there are those with law degrees (or maybe not) who try to scam those who have little education and are desperate to find a solution to their problems. Unfortunately, not only do people fail to read the fine print on documents, they also either do not have the means, or otherwise do not realize, there are forums as this one, to check the validity of the offer. This is the reason they get hooked by these mailers and scammed.

guest

I find it funny when I got the mailer that the eligible property that is listed, is the one that I am renting, not the one that I actually own.

NotAnIdiot

Just received our own little mailer this afternoon and found this site. We recently moved in to a rental property because our home is now on the list for a Sheriff’s Sale and we needed out. The letter came addressed to me, and the inside information was completely wrong! They had the address of the house we are renting on it, but the mortgage information for our foreclosure home! Completely ludicrous. We don’t even own our current house, and our landlord is certainly not in foreclosure! Thanks for the previous posts!

2 gd 2 b tru

Hey all, I live in Fl and just got one of these things the other day. Thanks for all the posts about this scam. Tehy are using the Vegas address on this one.

Pstark2

Man thanks for this! I was about to call them and fill the online app out and i did a little research and found this. Thanks again!

Second2none

Lols. Everyone please call these lowlifers using *67 before ur area code and number to block ur called ID and lets crash their phone system

Poolgool20

Got this flyer yesterday,… I know I’m looking for a deal but sure am glad I check things out first! Great article! Thanks for your hard work in researching these TOOLS! I hope they go to jail!

Ljhartnett

Steve,

I received a mailer the other day like the ones below only the # to call was 1-888-601-6941. I checked the web and thought it was a typo as it brought up the website referred to in this article. Thus, I called the above # and told them that I received their flyer. As I have already been told by the Bank that I don’t qualify for help from the money that they were just awarded recently, how was it possible for these folks to help. The rep said because they can do things that the Bank can’t and a rep would call me back. Then I found your website. Thank you. Also they just called back and to call yet another # 1-877-474-0177 Morgage Elete. I’m not calling back per your article.

florida

Jkb9d

Be careful. You gave them your phone number and now be aware you will probably get continuously hit by phone calls from them and also a succession of boiler room callers changing names of the companies, all with one goal: to get you to give them your financial information. This info they can use to take money from your account, if you are naive enough to give them your bank info, or they can just plain sell your information to others who can then use it for all kinds of criminals reasons.

Too late you gave your phone, but for others, please refrain from giving any of these companies your phone number, as they will now have your name, your home address, and your phone as well and can now try to con you with more pressure by the phone. Criminals don’t play fair.

Nubbunny

I just got this flyer today and thought it sounded really good. Then I started doing some research before I filled out anything online and found your site. Thank you!

Jack

yeah i got this today and thanks for the info I figured this was BS and you confirmed that

Dkholli5mjt

We also got this flier that noted what our current mortgage is and what our payment would be – looked very legal so I called the number. The guy I walked to was Reed Murray and he sounds very convincing. After reading all the above, I have changed my mind about giving out info. Thank you for posting and please be aware of this!!!

http://GetOutOfDebt.org Steve Rhode

Did he say what company he was selling for?

Gilmerejl

I have an update on the Modlegalus.com/Mortgage Relief Advisory: Travis Garlick gave his direct number of 801-462-2346 when he was working with my wife in setting this up. They did manage to take $800 even with a stop-payment order by splitting the charge into two checks made out to Series Attorney Platform, LLC. We challenged the payment as unauthorized and later received a check for $800 from the scammers. I did leave a rather nasty message with Travis, which felt good.

Mom

Received the same mailing today. Phone number and address is different. 866-581-9505, 500 N Rainbow, Ste 300, Las Vegas, NV 89107 – which is the location of Chase Home Loans and Southern Fidelity Mortgage. But thanks to your review, I won’t be contacting them. According to the internet, Suite 300 belongs to multiple companies: Ecore INC, LVR Restoration, Law office of Thomas C. Cook, Advanced Healthcare Search, and the list goes on. Must be a very large suite. ;-)

Schelle

I have the same one today. Same Las Vegas address.

kat22

I received this mailer yesterday and feeling semi-desperate I started looking into it. Thank you for preventing me from doing something stupid. I KNEW that it was most likely a scam yet I was falling into my dreamer mode…..

Crone_queen

Several days ago I received a mailer from mortgage relief Advisory. I am an unemployed senior. Wells fargo Bank called to let me know that my foreclosure house is days from a short sale. I was panicking. My daughter suggested I call the people from the mailer fromModlegalus.com. I did . I spoke with Inga and after was transferred to David.After speaking getting all my info and putting me on hold,he came back to let me know his attorney had qualified. He then asked me for my bank routing #…I said I was uncomfortable He was agreeable and told me to buy a Was-Mart card and He would call me in the a.m.I am so glad I found You BEWARE OF FOXES IN SHEEPS CLOTHING1He kept asking me to have FAITH while asking me for over 3,000……..THANK YOU1

Jkb9d

Bingo, now the scam is apparent. Never, ever, give your bank routing number or banking name, or credit card number over the phone to any place posing as a loan modification. Also, never give your social security number, your maiden name if a woman, your mother’s maiden name, to any party over a phone that you reply to from a mailing or email. For seniors, this info is all they need to change your direct deposit for your social security check to any bank they want; for all, this is how they can take your money and run before you know what happened.

Take a hint that this company keeps changing phone numbers, and addresses. I got one today from legalmod.us and this mailer has yet another phone number and yet another mailing address.

I can tell you if your bank cannot modify your loan, this place sure can’t. Also, the immediate red flag for me is their claim to be able to give Principal reduction. I can tell you that Fannie Mae has remained stubborn to do any principal reduction. So if you have a fannie mae loan, and some third-party place is promising you they can do for you what others can’t and get your principal amount reduced, they are a scam. Just google how 2-faced the 2 government agencies have been to refuse to reduce mortgage principals, while the government is pressuring the private banks to do that.

It is easy to change a contact phone number, as there are tons endlessly available to a scam con artist online through virtual services, as well as mailing addresses, can just be simply faked, not real, or mail receiving centers.

If you want to call their bluff, tell them you only do such business in person, and you want to set up an appointment at their physical address and then submit their application and terms it to your lawyer for review before providing any information. A real firm should have no problem with that. A shill firm will find every reason in the book why you can’t come in person or bring along a lawyer.

Blufoxchick

I got the same mailer today, thought it sounded too good to be true. God bless those people who play on the disadvantages of us struggling homeowners. blufoxx

Farquy

P.S. – Notice how legalmod.us changed to modlegalus.com, must be the same people, different location

Farquy

I just received a notice from modlegalus. So glad I looked at your article prior to going to their web site. Thank you.

ruth Perrigan

This is a scam and to think that a former attorney general is behind it says a lot for our governments choice of personnell to let us pay them so they can rip us off later. This needs to be brought to the attention of the present attorney general for prosecution of mail fraud. thankfully I didnt fall for it.

Anonymous

Got a flyer from a company claiming 2012 Mortgage Relief Advisory with number to call 888-211-6603. Flyer listed fax #801-993-0840 and mailing address of 500 N. Rainbow, Suite 300, LasVegas NV 89107. I googled this address and it came up as a virtual office….where people can rent rooms to have meetings with clients, mailers could be sent out to customers etc. I called the 888-211-6603 number and asked what the name of the company I am speaking to…was told CC Brown Law Group. I googled CC Brown Law group and they are located in Utah. I questioned the 2 different addresses and was told it is a big company. Girl on other line wanted my information and phone number..I refused. She then stated hold on. Was left on hold several minutes. Same girl came back and asked for my phone number. Again I refused, girl stated will have to transfer to an agent and put me on hold. Was on hold a LONG time. The next person that came on the line asked for my information. I refused and asked the company name…which she replied Mortgage Relief Advisory. I questioned why the previous girl said CC Brown. This person stated she is just a receptionist and would have to transfer me to an agent. I stated that is what the previous rep said…total time on call 19 minutes and never did get an agent. The scam is they try to get your info and if you refuse they claim to be transferring you to an agent. The next person on the line tries to get your info and if you refuse they claim they have to transfer you to an agent.

Just recieved a similar flyer in the mail today. Address of the complany is 500 N. Rainbow, STE 300 Las Vegas, NV 89107. Phone number is 1-888-224-7073. Internet address http://www.modlegalus.com. There is a discalimer in TINY print on the mailer that states: Information was obtained from public record sources, Rates and terms subject to change without notice. This product or service has not been approved or endorsedby any goverment agency and this offer is not being made by any agency of the goverment. Cases may likely be refered to local consel. My guess is this wil always be refered to local consel and this “company” get a fee for the referal.

Lonnie447

This info was very useful. I started to call. I well look this up on the compuiter, and I am glad that I did.

Jim

check out themelawfirm.com, I got a mailer like all of you and looked the same. Did some research and found this site. Also, look at wtleelaw.com. So far these firms are sounding legit but still doing research to make sure that all is on the up and up. Hope this helps any of you that are trying to go from surviving to living.

HS

I got the same thing….did you ever do anything with yours? just not sure what to do but my instincts say no…

Lisa

I received my mailer today and wanted to find out if it was a scam before I went further. there are a few differences on my mailer though. Min is a Payment Reduction Notification (HR-3221) and does NOT have the houses pictured anywhere on it

Single Laid Off Dad

my neighbor got the same mailer….has done their research and have begun their process with these people. I still tell them to be careful cuz of scams out there. I am very reluctant to do it myself and I need to do something because Im at high risk of losing my house soon too due to my Lay Off. I sincerely dont know what to do in my case because of the fact that I cant locate a good paying job to put me back where i was before the lay off…If anyone can please keep me informed about this and/or direct me to something that is LEGIT to help me I would appreciate it very much so…Im just a single dad trying to take care of my son and I need to keep my house. My handler told me I qualify for forbearance but I have worked so hard to get good credit that I cannot allow it to be ruined by that…Not working is not helping in any way. Please give me some advice anyone…

but be very leary about this mailer too…like I said my neighbor already started their loan reduction with these people and it seems ok so far but I just dont get it.

Kdsmith8412

NACA-Neigborhood Assistance Corporation of America. It took me a year but I received a home loan modification. Look them up on line and attend one of the events.

HS

We received their mailer this week. I contacted the company and they were very nice and encouraging. But then they wanted my account number and routing. NOT doing that. I googled the address, WT Lee, 3895 Clairemont Mesa Ste B-126 in San Diego. No law office is there. Did you do anything with yours?

Cheri

I received this today with the website http://www.modlegalus.com phone number of 1-866-581-9505 :*( I could use the help like any other and was excited.. So glad I did research on it and found this site.. Pathetic that people have to do this to people who are in real need..

guy

I received the same mailer today, except the phone number is 1-888-216-1092. Arkansans BEWARE it’s a scam.

Just one more person who got the mailer. Your website stopped me from making a mistake. Thanks.

Tricjake

Same here except the number on mine was 1-888-224-7073.

guest

I also received this mailer, howerver it is from “www.mortgagereliefus.com”with a mailing address of “193 E Fort Union Blvd Ste300 Midvale, UT 84047″. I too think it is shameful that a company would get my hopes up. Where did they get the information? Is my bank selling it? Also I received it in July, 2011.

guest

I also received the same mailer from http://www.mortgagereliefus.com with a mailing address of 193 E.Fort Union Blvd Ste 300 Midvale,Ut 84047 and were thinking on calling but after reading all this changed my mind Thank you for the WARNING

Anonymous

I just received the mailer as well. It looked like a scam, so, I started searching. Found your blog early. We have actually already moved out of our home and have been working with the lender to consider a short sale or deed in lieu option. I had already gone through all the available options and didn’t find anything matched the type of help this was offering. It briefly gave me false hope that we could move back in at better than my new rent – oh well. Thank you for this information. You just saved me, at minimum, a bunch of time. I will throw this mailer away.

Sam

THIS IS A SCAM. You should be ashamed of yourself. People who need help does not need people like you in their time of need.

Thumperusaf

Are you saying this website is a scam?

Europa75

I also recieved the same mailer and those people should be ashamed of themselves. Although my husband and I are not losing our home, we are one payment behind and reducing our payment would be great relief. I am so glad that I looked it up online and followed my hunch. It is so sad that people try to trick people that are already struggeling. If we were scammed in any way we would lose everything and we have three children to take care of. I hope somebody stops these individuals.

Steve Rhode

I agree. Having to trick people into thinking something it is not does not create confidence or trust in the underlying service. If the service is so good, why trick people?

jking

I just received my mailer today.Â The fact that I have a current mortgage of $130K on my post office box that they can reduceÂ to aÂ paymentÂ of $634 is awesome!Â

People who do this should be ashamed of themselves – taking advantage of people who are hard on their luck.Â Makes my stomach churn almost as much as my Lender does.

jking

I just received my mailer today. The fact that I have a current mortgage of $130K on my post office box that they can reduce to a payment of $634 is awesome!

People who do this should be ashamed of themselves – taking advantage of people who are hard on their luck. Makes my stomach churn almost as much as my Lender does.

http://GetOutOfDebt.org Steve Rhode

I agree. Having to trick people into thinking something it is not does not create confidence or trust in the underlying service. If the service is so good, why trick people?

Stace

I also received a copy of this Mailer. I think it is shameful that this company is preying on people that are sincerely in need of relief.

Stace

I also received a copy of this Mailer. I think it is shameful that this company is preying on people that are sincerely in need of relief.

Acmarcus

I receive a mailer yesterday and looked on-line and found you. I thought it was bogus. My husband and I have filed bankrupcty and I would like to know if there is a real program through the government for loan modification?

Acmarcus

I receive a mailer yesterday and looked on-line and found you. I thought it was bogus. My husband and I have filed bankrupcty and I would like to know if there is a real program through the government for loan modification?

Verdad6774

where did you file was it expensive as I dont see any other way out of this debt since the economy went to hell-and get behind 1 mth and OMG I just cant get back ahead thank you and good luck to you.

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